How to become a fractional General Counsel
A fractional General Counsel in the UK charges £800 to £1,400 a day and holds two to three clients at once. What follows is the arithmetic on that, the honest ceiling, and the cases where this seat does not work part-time at all.
Fractional General Counsel salary: what the year adds up to
Day rate × days a week × 46 billable weeks, rather than 52, because you will take holidays and because a year of unbroken client work is not a thing that happens. The rates are the band for the seat on the 2026 day rates page.
| Day rate | 1 day a week | 2 days a week | 3 days a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting out£800 a day | £36,800a year | £73,600a year | £110,400a year |
| Established£1,100 a day | £50,600a year | £101,200a year | £151,800a year |
| Top of the band£1,400 a day | £64,400a year | £128,800a year | £193,200a year |
Before tax, before your own costs, and assuming the days are actually sold. Most people starting out spend a good part of the first year at fewer days than they planned.
What moves you up the band
Still materially below partner-level law firm rates for equivalent seniority.
How many clients the seat holds
Two to three. Contract work is reasonably schedulable; a live negotiation or a dispute is not, and either will take a week without asking.
How to get your first fractional General Counsel clients
A company paying a law firm by the hour for things that do not need a law firm, and feeling it. The saving is visible and arithmetic, which makes it the easiest case to make on this list.
Law firms and finance leaders. A firm that cannot justify the client's day-to-day work at partner rates refers it on, and a fractional CFO negotiating contracts without counsel is often the first to suggest one. Keeping the firms you worked with informed is time well spent.
Where fractional General Counsel roles come from
From companies paying a law firm by the hour for work that does not need one, usually introduced by the firm itself, a fractional CFO or an investor. In-house legal seats at this size are rarely advertised as fractional.
Do you need a qualification or a certificate?
A current practising certificate is the credential that matters, and a company will ask about it. There is no separate fractional qualification; the practice area and the in-house seats held are what get checked.
It needs in-house experience as the senior lawyer, or private practice at a level where commercial judgement rather than drafting was the work. A capable associate is not yet doing this seat, which is being the commercial judgement in the room.
What the work actually is
Being the commercial judgement in the room rather than the legal opinion after it. The value is in what gets decided quickly, not in the document.
When this seat does not work fractionally
- There is live litigation, which needs a firm rather than a seat.
- They want specialist advice you are not qualified to give, and will not pay for outside counsel either.
- The volume genuinely justifies a full-time counsel, which happens sooner than founders expect.
What people get wrong
- Giving advice outside your practice area because you are the only lawyer they have.
- Becoming the contract-review queue rather than the commercial judgement.
- Not being clear about what still needs a firm.
The mechanics, briefly
Most UK fractional executives work through their own limited company and invoice per day or on a monthly retainer. Professional indemnity cover is worth having before the first engagement rather than after. Check what your last employment contract says about notice and restrictions before you start approaching anybody, particularly if a first client might be somebody you met there.
Employment status is the question that worries people most, and it is worth understanding properly rather than assuming: IR35 and fractional executives covers who decides, what gets tested, and the directorship point that catches people out.
Common questions
What should I charge as a fractional General Counsel in the UK?
£800 to £1,400 a day is the band on the bench, with a typical rate around £1,100. Still materially below partner-level law firm rates for equivalent seniority. At £1,100 a day, two days a week is about £101,200 a year across 46 billable weeks.
How do I get clients as a fractional General Counsel?
A company paying a law firm by the hour for things that do not need a law firm, and feeling it. The saving is visible and arithmetic, which makes it the easiest case to make on this list. Law firms and finance leaders. A firm that cannot justify the client's day-to-day work at partner rates refers it on, and a fractional CFO negotiating contracts without counsel is often the first to suggest one. Keeping the firms you worked with informed is time well spent.
How many clients can a fractional General Counsel hold at once?
Two to three. Contract work is reasonably schedulable; a live negotiation or a dispute is not, and either will take a week without asking.
How many clients do I need to replace a full-time General Counsel salary?
Against a full-time base of £135,000, the mid-market figure the cost calculator uses for this seat, £1,100 a day across 46 weeks takes about 2.7 days a week. That is two clients at up to two days a week each, before tax and your own costs, and only once the days are actually sold.
Can I become a fractional General Counsel with no experience in the seat?
It needs in-house experience as the senior lawyer, or private practice at a level where commercial judgement rather than drafting was the work. A capable associate is not yet doing this seat, which is being the commercial judgement in the room.
Do I need a certification to work as a fractional General Counsel?
A current practising certificate is the credential that matters, and a company will ask about it. There is no separate fractional qualification; the practice area and the in-house seats held are what get checked.
When does a fractional General Counsel arrangement not work?
There is live litigation, which needs a firm rather than a seat. They want specialist advice you are not qualified to give, and will not pay for outside counsel either. The volume genuinely justifies a full-time counsel, which happens sooner than founders expect.
Other seats
Hiring one rather than becoming one? What a fractional General Counsel covers and what one costs are the other side of the same numbers. Pricing yourself from a salary? The salary to day rate calculator and what to charge do the arithmetic.
There is no registration fee
No subscription. What listing costs, here and elsewhere, or put yourself on the bench.